MTSS - Teams

School-Level Team

At the heart of a MTSS is the school-level team. Sometimes known as a school improvement team, this team acts as the principal problem-solving driver for the entire MTSS. The school-level team identifies and addresses school-level barriers, monitors and supports the development of systems, establishes and maintains a robust educator support system, monitors implementation fidelity, and analyzes student outcome data.

The school-level team provides support to the various sub-teams in the building, and should adopt a consistent team structure that includes norms and agreements, a consistent problem-solving process, and a process for action planning.

The school-level MTSS team acts as the architects of a school-wide MTSS. They facilitate the design of the system, and lead the transformation of systems from current status to maximum efficiency. Team members should be selected on more than just a title. Any passionate adults interested in school transformation, and who have experience in, or desire to learn, implementation or transformation should be considered as members of the team.

Grade-Level Team

A grade-level team is sometimes referred to as a continuous improvement team. Many schools utilize grade-level teams that meet regularly to discuss grade-level (or sometimes a span of grades) practices, instruction, effectiveness of instruction, student growth, and in some cases team policies, behavior, and areas/needs for improvement.

Grade-level teaming can be an extremely effective practice for a number of reasons. First, grade-level teams help to ensure consistency in instruction (academic, behavior, and social) by allowing for all teachers of a particular grade to share and bring successes and challenges to the table. Another benefit to grade-level teams is reduced teacher stress and burnout. In addition, grade-level teams invite the expertise of each individual person on the team to present itself as a resource for addressing challenges, so students can be flexibly grouped to work on emerging skills with a teacher that has capacity and interest in running the small group - the teacher doesn't always have to be the "official" teacher, either. If Mrs. Smith is the social studies teacher, but has a passion for math, she may be interested in hosting a small math group to help struggling students. This frees up time for the math teacher to reach other students in other capacities, and demonstrates the shared responsibility for all students across the team.

Like other MTSS teams, grade-level teams should work to establish a shared vision for the school year, and state their priorities for achieving that vision. Along with drawing a vision, teams can set academic, social, or behavioral goals that each of the teachers will work on together. Visions and goals should be documented, measurable, and referred to at least monthly to ensure progress is being made. Also, grade-level teams serve as the drivers of tier 1, 2, and sometimes 3 in their class/grade. As such, establishing a meeting protocol is essential to making the most of the available time.

A few things to consider when establishing grade-level teams:

1. Who is at the table? Who is missing? - The grade-level team is a powerful way to ensure consistent equity and inclusion in classrooms. This group of dedicated individuals are the first defense to creating classrooms and team policies that meet the needs of the students they have. This team asks "who are we teaching, and what do those children need from us?" and then works to be sure each and every child is supported.

2. Shared Vision: Everyone wants each child to grow in their academics, behavior, and social skills, and setting a shared vision at the start of every school year is a great way to do this. Why every year? Because teachers, ed techs, curriculums, and challenges come and go. Creating a new shared vision each year can welcome and integrate new teachers so they feel valued and part of the process. Another thought to consider when re-writing your shared vision each year is the idea of change. All humans change and grow - not just students. Teachers do too. To keep the same shared vision year after year makes it difficult for that vision to align with the changing world around it.

3. Maximizing Human Capital: A myriad of expertise exists inside your school building. Maximizing human capital is a creative (and inexpensive!) way to utilize the skills and passions of each educator so that when students present with a challenge, they can be matched to the resources that are available - that includes the people in the building that might be just what that student needs!

4. Consistent Problem-Solving: As a continuous improvement team, it is important to establish a consistent problem-solving practice paired with communication and action planning so everyone knows what to expect, where to go when needs arise, and how to address challenges collectively.

Classroom-Level Team

At the head of the classroom team is the primary teacher. As the classroom teacher, they are responsible for creating a learning environment that is equitable, inclusive, and conducive to social, behavioral, and academic growth. While not always viewed through a team lens, understanding how to harness the power of this team is a necessary step to providing inclusive supports at tiers 1, 2, and 3.

Collectively, the responsibility of the team is to provide whole-class, small-group, and sometimes individual instruction and intervention. Because each classroom population is made up of different types of learners, it's likely no two classroom-level teams will look or function in the same way. The concept of a classroom-level team is sometimes overlooked. Typically, the classroom teacher works to deliver instruction to the variety of children that are in their class, and additional educators are incorporated on an as-needed basis based on the population of students. For example, a special education teacher might provide consult to the classroom teacher on student IEP requirements, or directly support individual students. Another example is when an occupational therapist visits the classroom to assist students with OT goals, or address a teacher concern.

Like other MTSS teams, the classroom-level team is an important piece of a school's MTSS framework in that it encourages a whole-child approach to each learner, and facilitates the creation of wholly inclusive learning environments designed to meet learners where they are. While the classroom-level team may not meet all together regularly, a communication plan with all of the team members is a great way to ensure that the team is working collaboratively on an ongoing, as-needed, and consistent basis.

The Achilles heel of the classroom-level team is "assumption." When educators carry a certain title, degree, or reputation it is easy to assume that they all have the same goals, and the same ideas for how to reach those goals. With that in mind, it is sometimes helpful to consider a few things when thinking about classroom-level teams as part of your school-wide MTSS:

1. Teacher as principal - As the leader of this team, the classroom teacher drives the classroom leadership team. All teachers possess a variety of strengths, talents, and expertise that lead them through their craft of teaching and ultimately they are responsible for a majority of the instruction and intervention inside their classroom.

2. Shared vision - Due to the nature of the demands of student needs and the often limited availability of educators to meet all of those needs, the classroom-level team can benefit from establishing many of the protocols of more obvious teams, including a shared vision. At the heart of every educator is the desire to make a difference in the lives of the children they serve, but in the end the belief alone isn't always enough. The classroom-level team can benefit from defining their shared vision, and stating their intentions with and for each other to create clarity among all team members.

3. Communication - Because of the scarcity of time to meet, an agreed-upon plan for communication throughout the school year is important to consider. With technology, there are a variety of channels that teams can use to establish a plan and a medium for communication. It would be unrealistic to expect a classroom-level team to meet as often as some of the other MTSS teams due to factors such as time, availability, case load, and other responsibilities. The classroom-level team should establish a schedule for when they will meet and hard schedule those times into the calendar, aiming for a minimum of 3–4 face to face meetings throughout the year.

4. Equity and Inclusion - The classroom-level team is paramount to universal design for learning and together, the classroom-level team is the creator and the driver of an equitable and inclusive universal tier 1. Each of the members of the team bring tools and expertise that can be utilized to create classrooms where all children learn and grow together.

Individual Student Team

The Individual Student Team initially consists of the teacher, student, and family or caregivers of the student. Individual Student Teams sometimes get overlooked when considering the universal teaming structure of a school's MTSS framework, when in reality it is the team that may hold the most leverage in student success in school - as such, it is extremely important that efforts to establish this team from the start should be carefully considered.

When a student presents with challenges in the classroom or school setting that need to be addressed in a more intensified manner, additional people can be added to the team to assist in the instruction and intervention the student needs. These intensified teams are sometimes known as a 504 team or an IEP team. Together, the individuals on the team, including the student whenever possible, establish partnerships and a plan for shared responsibility designed to assist in the success of the student.

Like other MTSS teams, the individual student team should have common activities and practices in place. Having these practices in place serves a number of purposes.

1. Consistency - When a school elects to adopt a common structure for their individual student team, greater consistency can be achieved. For example, if another person in the building must step into the team for any length of time, the person filling in will already be aware of the system; they will know where to find information if needed, and how to assist in the moment a student needs it.

2. Familiarity - When families with multiple children are a part of the school community over time, it can be difficult for parents to keep track of all of the different ways each teacher conducts school business. This can cause frustration and it can make partnering with families more difficult. In addition, families with experience with the school's framework can help assist other families that are new to the community.

3. Sustainability - Many practices and initiatives fall victim to failure for the simple reason that they are simply not set up to be sustainable. When administration, teachers, or education technicians enter and leave the school, natural weaknesses occur in the systems that were only supported or driven by a few individuals - if one of those individuals was a primary driver of the system it becomes even more of a challenge. Also, when families move between schools within a district, or leave the district only to return some time later, valuable time can be saved when common activities and practices that become part of the school culture help these systems to be more sustainable over time and change.

4. Time to Teach - Always a highly requested commodity in education, time is often the number one request when asked what teachers need. Adopting a common practice for individual student teaming can free up some of that precious instructional time and redirect it to the things that are the most important: academic, behavioral, and social-emotional growth of students.